Voices of Youth: What Does India Need to Get Back to a High Growth Trajectory?

India today is the fourth largest economy in the world. But for the country to sustain a growth rate of close to 6%, it remains vulnerable to the vicissitudes of global investors. It’s time to ponder: why it is not the other way round? How can India reach a position where we not only follow the rise and fall of global economic forces but also lead the way in sustaining the global economy? This is my dream.

Improving Ongoing Flagship Programs: -The monitoring of all flagship projects should be improved right from the Gram Panchayat level to the state and central level. -Models need to be developed for every flagship program, success factors studied, and implementation aligned with the specific needs of each state. -All program implementation officers should be trained by those who have worked in successful programs. Pay should be linked with performance. -Resource reallocation should depend on progress and work load. -All unsuccessful programs should be analyzed to understand the main causes for failure and alternatives planned. -Benchmark studies should be conducted to identify critical indicators for development in education, health and infrastructure and year on year progress checked.

Investing in infrastructure: Let’s make private participation with the government on infrastructure projects a norm for domestic companies earning above a certain revenue margin for 3 consecutive years. This will enforce faster infrastructure development. Many a time invitations for PPP go in vain if private owners do not find the projects commercially viable. To reduce their reluctance to invest in the not-so lucrative projects, setting a norm for responsible corporate behavior will make a difference. This is already the practice in some states.

Improving purchasing power: Increased purchasing power is an important growth trigger. A need analysis by task force deployed by Government will help in understanding the market potential of various products and services. A report published to that effect can help in understanding which all sectors needs thrust on Annual Business Plan*.

Note: Annual Business Plan - disintegrated from 5 year plan can help in tracking growth in short term. The Union budget can be aligned with it, extending benefit to the industries targeted high by the annual demand analysis report.

Utilization of North East Frontier: Our North East frontier needs massive investment in infrastructure. Sops can be provided to private investors for setting up facilities in this region. A start can be made by transferring native employees back to their home towns, followed by skill development initiatives and local hiring.

Focusing on Core Competence: Today all our traditional products and services need extensive branding and packaging. Eastern India requires a textile hub like Tirupur to spread the benefit to states like Orissa, Bengal, and Assam. Weavers in interior villages need support of technology to go beyond local markets. Our floriculture and handicrafts need to be marketed well. The number of cold storage facilities need to be increased, with their locations determined in keeping with transportation costs.

Growth through Tourism: We earn close to 5% of our GDP through tourism whereas the figure stands at 8.7% for the US. Improved communications and roadways, followed by good branding, will change these statistics. Government can initiate international conferences and meets at places other than Delhi and also facilitate the corporate sector in conducting more training sessions and international conferences in the less well-known destinations that have potential for tourism.

Eco Tourism: India has the world’s largest mangrove forest in the Sunderbans, 22 wetlands of international importance, as well as the world’s largest salt desert in the Great Rann of Kutch to mention a few. Eco tourism concepts like home stays in remote tribal areas can improve earning potential exponentially. Models developed by Costa Rica or in the wetlands and grass lands of Australia can be adjusted to suit our our geography and culture.

Conclusion In India policy reforms need to be partnered with an analysis of demand, with a focus on infrastructure, engaging our people creatively, and generating more employment. These will in turn lead to more purchasing power and higher investment, and hence higher growth.

Comments

I shall only state where is the political will?. When selfishness becomes as means to end in the guise of political mileage, the country & it's citizen suffer. Obnoxious govt & opposition are beyond recognising the will of people, which is Lokpal. Reforms only come in the form of barring social media which hits the gut of political ego. Such is the state of politicians that suppose to be ally of govt, Mamata Banerjee works against all reforms from FDI in retail to any other investments. Political class sits in parliament not for the functioning but for adjournments. What hope the future of India has when the Indian head office don't function. For me the word INDIA means (IN NATION'S DEVELOPMENT INVOLVE ALL), but where is that WILL from the govt?..

"Implementation is Glory"
Purchasing Power Parity, Infrastructual investment, Prvate public partnership eco tourism stagnant and polio affected power sector deliberately neglected agriculture and allied industries are undoubtedly the core areas of focus for sustainable growth and development.
Government in most of all planning programmes very clearly understands the necessity of priority sectoral reforms and technological improvements.
However the finds itself always not meeting expectations in most of all sectors.
How and why does this happen, can we as citizens really do something to support or stabilize this fallacies.

Individual citizens cannot do anything to pull growth without being a part of the system. We can only flag out issues raise awareness, focus on areas which government has not considered so far. We can well have our summits and conferences at places off Delhi and Mumbai, it helps other states to earn revenue and also thrust on infrastructure, and take such easy steps to bring in changes.My effort was also to give example (like hosting out bound training in less developed but beautiful places, the tourism industry will then get boost also in places like Arunachal) in the areas corporate can share the responsibility with government in pulling the growth.

What India needs it already has had for years - and it can support itself as it has for thousands of years. Let's not mess it up in the name of development - by imposing what we city-bred and quasi-intellectuals think we need. There is no necessity to impose a western style model or a China model to India. It is difficult to see the breakdown of a wonderful laid-back, family-oriented, loving India with communal values... into becoming selfish and me-first Western consumerist culture, where the majority of the poor are suffering, feeling left out, and having a rough time and feeling more hopeless. It is sad to think that we are going for a GMO based, systematic destruction of our village-based rural life where values more important than money rule people and society. We have swallowed the capitalist agenda - hook line and sinker - and seem to be unable to think with wisdom. The shiny object never ceases to attract the native - and marketing is the all-powerful king pushing the shiny object. Destroying our villages destroys our culture. The Western model's dependence upon currency systems basically takes our already existing comfortable self-sustaining lives and makes us employees to an unsustainable, heavy wastage of natural resources system, where to regain our peaceful life becomes available only for the very rich. Screw economic growth and attracting FDI, it would be great if UK paid off all our debts (from years of stealing from India) and let India be independent. And take no more loans from anyone.

Understand the frustration for all that we font have, but it would be nice if u come foward with ideas to step forward, I have put across my views, limited ones which one can share in a 2page blog, one can illustrate come with new ideas always. I am also liking the way foreign currency is used in trade in recent times among specific countries helping us to move ahead not getting affected by Fed tapoering and ruppee devaluation. Some great corridors and a lot more investment in infrastructure will help us to back to growth trajectory. Also its important to push corporates to spend keeping short term goals in mind, it will help in fund mobilization across sectors and eventually improve purchasing power and hence drive growth.